As a man who has always viewed Bobby Fisher as one of America’s greatest heroes — taking on the Soviet chess machine and beating them over the board — and believing the Magnus Carlson is a secret member of the Avengers, and who sees himself as a grandmaster who has inexplicably never advanced past the 1500’s level, I was ecstatic to see the photo array of young chess players in the Dispatch.
As a clueless high school kid, I was in math club and chess club. In math club, we all worked on a new proof of the Pythagorean theorem (it would have been about the eight thousandth proof), but we failed. In chess club, they, not realizing that I was a grandmaster, had me playing third board. I was an outstanding third board, winning more than I lost. Whenever I was in Manhattan, I would always go to Washington Square and pay five bucks to play the regulars there. Those guys are really good. I think I won twice. All this is a ramble in support of all these kids.
Somebody needs to teach them defense — King’s Indian, Sicilian (Bobby Fisher’s favorite), French, Karo-Kann… And openings… And middle-game strategy…
Chess has so many ways of developing mental agility that it is a shame that it has not been a bigger deal here. The Soviets understood this. They would grab kids with chess talent at about age six and send them to chess school . Maybe the Dispatch’s photos of these kids will begin to change our view of the importance of the game.
Bill Gillmore
Columbus
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 45 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
